Good News/Bad News

Good news...We found out last week that Alex has had an appointment scheduled with Dr. Loftus @ Mayo since June 8th! The bad news...that appointment is for July 18th. Alex simply cannot wait another month to be seen. So, we have since been in the process of trying to get that appointment moved up to a sooner date. Alex's GI doctor and primary care doctor have both called, letters have been mailed, and faxes of records have been sent. Dr. Loftus has been out of the clinic for awhile and is returning tomorrow (Wednesday), so we REALLY would like to ask specifically for your prayers that he will receive all of this information and be able to move Alex's appointment up to a closer date.

Alex is tolerating his TPN very well, and has even had it changed to where it runs for only 14 hours now instead of 18. If his labs from today check out okay, they may move him down to a 12 hour cycle on Thursday. He continues to have trouble tolerating food. He was discharged from the hospital with a regular diet and has been taking it very slow on eating. He eats about one small snack/meal a day. He is trying to stick with the "white" things that the doctor suggested-white potatoes, white bread, white rice, cereals, etc. You know...all of those things that the rest of us are trying to avoid in an effort to be "healthy" ;). He definitely cannot have any "whole grain" breads, fruits or veggies as they are just too hard to digest. His difficulty digesting even these small snacks indicates that he is still having too much inflammation to pass food through his digestive tract efficiently. As far as we know now, the most severe inflammation is in the very first part of the small intestine where it meets the stomach (the duodenum). This is where the most recent endoscopy and the upper GI test showed the newest and most significant areas of inflammation and ulceration.

So...specific prayer requests for tonight are...
1. Decreased swelling, increased nutrition, and overall healing of Alex's body, spirit and mind. He is so strong and fighting so hard, but I know all of this takes much more than just a physical toll on him.
2. That Dr. Loftus will quickly be able to review all of the information and understand the urgency and importance of squeezing Alex into an earlier appointment time.
3. Confidence, trust and peace that God is in control...keeping fear, worry and anxiety at bay.

Thank you all so much for your continued support. Love to you all!